I See Him
by Just Plain Valiant
Summary: Crystal Brookes is a French exchange student at St. Finbars, and best friends with Lucy Pevensie. However, once she arrives in Narnia, she may gain new relationships with Lucy's brother, the dark king- and a very special Lion. Rated T for INTENSENESS.
1. The Train Station

_Hullo! It's been a while, hasn't it?_

_So, yes. I've started yet another story. What else is new?_

_This one, I got the sudden inspiration for while talking to a friend. So, I took her character, Crystal, and shipped her off to Narnia with the Pevensies. WOO._

_The faster you review, the faster I update! ;)

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I glanced at either end of the street briefly, then sprinted across, toward the train station. Apparently, I wasn't fast enough, because a car had to stop right in front of me.

"Watch where you're goin', lass!" the driver shouted.

I smiled at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry!" I threw the apology over my shoulder as I ran into the station. In one hand was a brown leather suitcase. I was in a red and gold St. Finbars uniform, my hair was in a low ponytail, resting on one shoulder.

Before I was even that far into the train station, I could hear the shouts of, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" A boy with sandy blonde hair and a blue and gold Hendon House uniform was being pretty much pulverized by the unanimous David Crowler, Hendon House's worst student. He was a jerk, and, well, an idiot.

Before long, another boy in a Hendon House uniform jumped on David, freeing the blonde boy from his grasp. A few of David's followers joined the fight, slamming the blonde boy into the station walls. The dark haired boy that had rescued the blonde bore a slight resemblance to him, him and someone else I knew, but I just couldn't place the name. It occurred to me that they must've been brothers, or related in some way.

It wasn't long until a group of soldiers rushed over and broke up the fight. "Darn," I muttered to myself, smirking.

"Crystal!"

I turned at the sound of my name, facing a little girl- well, littl_er_, with shoulder length brow hair in braided pigtails and a smile on her face, dimples and everything. She, too, wore a St. Finbars uniform.

"Hey, Luce," I said, grinning at her. She and I had been great friends since we'd met about a month ago at some school registration meeting in London.

You see, I'm not English. Technically. Sure, I sound like it, and can speak English, but I'm actually from France. My mother sent me to an English boarding school during the war, since France had been taken by the Axis Powers, and my father had accompanied me to England- but not to stay, to register and a soldier and fight with the British army. So, here I was. During the holidays, since I couldn't very well go to Paris, I'd stayed with a close school friend, Marjorie Preston- through whom I'd met Lucy Pevensie.

Speaking of Marjorie. "D'you know if Marjorie's coming this term?" I asked her.

Lucy shook her head. "Nasty bout of the flu. She'll be arriving late."

"A pity," I said, shaking my head. "And your siblings?"

"They're over there," she said, pointing to a bench off to the side, where the blonde and dark haired boys, accompanied by a dark haired girl, were setting down their suitcases and things.

"So that was your brothers in that fight..." I trailed off with a small smirk.

Lucy giggled. "They're quite the fighters, aren't they?"

I nodded my response. Lucy then asked- whether out of politeness or a genuine drive to introduce me to her siblings, I didn't know- if I'd like to meet them. I said yes.

Lucy led me over to the bench, smiling up at the three. "This is my friend, Crystal. Crystal, this is Edmund-" Lucy pointed to the dark haired boy, and he nodded, "Susan-" The dark haired girl nodded, smiling fondly, "- and Peter." The blonde nodded, sitting down. Lucy sat next to him, and Susan sat next to her.

"Here, have a seat," Susan said, moving over. I smiled, thanked her, and sat down, setting my suitcase to the side.

The dark haired boy- or, rather, Edmund- sat next to Peter, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You're welcome." I smirked at him.

Peter scowled. "I had it sorted." He walked to the edge of the platform, pacing, almost.

"What was it this time?" Susan asked.

I nudged Susan lightly. "This time?" I whispered.

"This isn't the first," she whispered back, glancing at Peter.

Peter turned to us. "He bumped me."

Lucy looked appalled. "So you hit him?"

He shook his head. "No. After he bumped me, he tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him."

Susan frowned. "Really, Peter, is it so hard just to walk away?"

"I shouldn't have to!" he exclaimed. "Don't you ever get tired of being treated like a kid?"

I raised my hand jokingly. "I do, on a daily basis." Peter tossed a smile in my direction.

Edmund looked a little confused. "Uh... we are kids?" My smile melted.

"Yeah, so what's your point?" I asked. "They don't have to treat us like two year olds."

"Exactly!" Peter agreed. "Besides, we weren't always!"

I arched my eyebrows, thoroughly puzzled. "Alright, you've officially lost me."

Susan shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Oh, no, it's _something_, Su." Peter said gravely, sitting between Edmund and Lucy. "It's been a year. How long does he expect us to wait?"

"How long does who expect you to wait?" I inquired. But my question was avoided by all four.

Susan let out a sigh. "I just think that you should accept the fact that we live here now. It does no good to pretend otherwise."

That was it. I was completely lost.

Out of nowhere, Lucy stood with an, "Ow!"

"Luce, be quiet!" Susan hushed her, brow furrowed.

"Something pinched me!" Lucy exclaimed, rubbing her arm.

Peter turned to Edmund. "Quit tugging my arm, would you?"

"I'm not touching you!" Edmund defended, holding up his hands.

Both Susan and I stood at the same time, but not because we'd wanted to stand. We'd been pushed from our seats.

Lucy grinned widely. "It feels like magic!"

"Magic?" I asked. "What are you talking about-"

I was interrupted by a sudden breeze, caused by an unexpected train speeding across the railway, moving far too fast than any normal train would drive. The gust of wind was so powerful that it was near impossible to see without squinting.

"Quick! Look sharp, catch hands!" Edmund called out. "Lucy's right- this _is_ magic. I can tell by the feeling!"

Pretty soon we were all holding hands, narrowing our eyes at the speeding train. Suddenly, the wind started blowing all over the place, catching signs and metal gates in its wake. Even the brickwork of the station itself went flying past. The paint chipped off of the walls, leaving bare, rugged stone. The floor beneath us shifted, becoming suddenly slippery, but grainy at the same time. Through the windows of train, glimpses of a beach could be seen.

Almost immediately after the first glimpse of the ocean could be seen, the train disappeared into the distance. The station was long since gone, leaving us in- of all places- a cave, illuminated just barely with the sunlight that poured into the mouth of the cave.

The four of them started walking forward, letting go of each others hands, and I, of course, followed. Something about them had changed- their faces, the way they moved. It was different. If I knew better at the time, I would've said that they'd become regal and defined. They knew what they were doing.

Lucy suddenly turned to us, grinning, then broke into a run toward the beach. With returned grins, the rest of us followed, kicking off our shoes, taking off our jackets and ties, undoing our hair- well, us girls did- and immediately rushed into the ocean, splashing one another playfully. It became a sort of water war after a while, to see who could get the most soaked faster.

Edmund was the ultimate winner, for he had zoned out a bit, staring at a large, sloping hillside, dotted with the remainders of what must've once been beautiful stonework.

"What is it, Ed?" Susan asked.

"Well," he asked slowly. "Where d'you suppose we are?"

Peter laughed. "Where d'you think?"

"Of course, but... well, I don't remember any ruins in Narnia." We all followed Edmund's gaze to the ruins ahead.

My brow furrowed suddenly. "Narnia? What's that?"

Lucy turned to me. "Why, we're in it right now! It's another world entirely. We four were here a year ago, and became kings and queens, and ruled here for Narnian years, for what was known as the Golden Age of Narnia-"

"Wait," I paused her. "Years? I thought you said you'd been here a year ago."

"Yes," she said. "Narnian years and years on Earth are quite different. When you're in Narnia, no time passes on Earth."

"So we still have to go back to school?" I groaned. Lucy could only laugh.


	2. Cair Paravel

After a few moments of wondering on the Pevensie's behalves, we made our way up the hillside. Along the way, we passed through an orchard. I watched Peter pick an apple, shine it on his sweater vest, and toss it to Lucy. "Here, Luce."

Lucy grinned, taking a bite. "Thanks!" After a moment of chewing, she asked, "Do we still have those sandwiches?"

Peter shot a smile at us. "Well, I left mine in my bag. And I left my bag at the train station. And... I left the train station in England." I laughed.

As we approached the heart of the ruins, I found myself wondering what it looked like before it had been destroyed. I reached out to touch one of the remainders of a wall, glancing around curiously.

"I wonder who lived here," I heard Lucy muse aloud.

Susan gasped. I turned and watched her bend over to pick something up. It was a golden chess piece, but in the shape of a centaur. "I think _we_ did."

All four of us walked over to her. Edmund was the first to speak up.

"Hey, that's mine- from my chess set!"

Peter's brow furrowed. "Which chess set?"

"Well I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?" The younger boy replied as he took the chess piece from Susan, examining it.

Lucy stared at the very center of the ruins, eyes narrowing in realization. "It can't be..."

"What d'you mean?" I asked, confused. Instead of answering, the little girl ran to the middle of the stone architecture, pulling Peter with her.

"Don't you see?" she exclaimed as the rest of us followed.

"See what?" Peter inquired.

"Imagine, walls all around." Lucy positioned him in front of a block of stone. I noticed that there were three others- one to his right, and two to his left. All were evenly spaced out, as if something far more important had been there long ago.

Lucy pulled Susan to the first stone on Peter's left, pointing ahead. "And columns there."

"And a glass roof!" She dragged Edmund to stand in front of the stone beside Peter, then ran to the stone beside Susan. All four had looks of amazement and shock on their faces.

"Well, aren't I the fifth wheel?" I mumbled to myself, watching them.

It was Peter who spoke first.

"Cair Paravel."

Instantly, the ruins around me dissolved into an entirely different scene. Instead of rocks and grass and overgrown trees, there were marble floors, columns all around, lining the walls. The roof was made of glass, and where the stones had been were ornate marble thrones. Each Pevensie was sitting on their throne, in royal garments you could only find in the renaissance ages. Behind the thrones was a dais, overlooking the ocean.

I realized that it wasn't an entirely different scene, but a scene in the same place from another time. But how had it gotten into my head? It felt like a distant dream or fantasy, but at the same time, it was as if I had been there, as if it was a memory.

"Crys?"

Edmund's voice aroused me from the vision. The glistening thrones, the marble floors, the dais and ocean view all vanished, leaving the ruins and grass and overgrown trees in its place.

I looked over to him. His expression was strange, as if he'd been contemplating something while I'd zoned out. "Everything alright?"

I nodded a little. Already, the vision- dream- whatever it had been, was fading. "Yeah, just... wow. What is this place?"

"Cair Paravel," he said, taking a step closer. "It's the castle we reigned in when we were last here."

"I wonder what happened," I said to myself, glancing around. Edmund stared at me for a long moment before shrugging and joining the others in front of a vine covered... something. Eventually, I followed.

Peter and Edmund cleared the vines away, then began ripping the wood off of an extremely old looking door. I narrowed my eyes in confusion, yet said nothing.

Peter then took a piece of wood from the ground, ripped a section of cloth from his shirt off, and wrapped it around the stick, as if to use it for a torch.

"I wouldn't suppose," he asked Edmund, "that you had any matches?"

"Well, no... but," Edmund started to reply, shuffling through his parcel and pulling out a flashlight. "Would this help?"

"You might've mentioned that a bit sooner!" Peter exclaimed, laughter in his voice. Edmund grinned, flicked the torch on, and started down what I assumed was a staircase into random blackness.

I looked up at Peter as Susan and Lucy made their way down. "What's in there?"

"You'll see," he answered with a grin, nearly running down the steps. With a roll of my eyes, I followed.

I was amazed by what I saw. I was an entire treasure chamber, lined with all sorts of armor and shields and swords and drinking horns and bows and arrows and- well, you get the point. But lining the walls of the chamber were four statues- in the very same order they'd been standing in before- and in front of the statues, chests. Giant chests of... stuff.

Lucy rushed forward to her own chest, throwing it open. Edmund and Susan followed suit. Peter, however, picked up a dusty shield and blew on it. In the very metal of the shield was the face of a lion.

"I was so tall!" I looked up at the sound of Lucy's voice, smiling. She was holding out a gold dress, fit for someone much older than herself.

"Well," Susan replied, pulling a bow and quiver full of arrows from her chest. "You were older then." Lucy grinned and stuffed the dress back into her chest.

"As opposed to hundreds of years later," Edmund said, "when you're younger." I glanced over at him, covering my mouth to keep from laughing too terribly hard. He was wearing a silver knight's helmet- but it was way too big for him.

"Nice hat," I remarked with a smirk. He grinned, taking the helmet off and pulling a sword from his chest.

"My horn," I heard Susan complain. "I must've left it on my saddle, the day we went back."

Edmund whistled. "That's a shame." Turning to me, he added, "Su was given a magic horn when we four first came. It brought help to you every time you blew it."

My eyes widened. "That _is_ a shame."

Suddenly, Peter approached his chest, opening it slowly. The rest of us watched him with unfaltering gazes in his direction.

He pulled a sword, still in its sheath, from the chest, drawing it slowly, as if he expected it to stay in the sheath and not come out at all. He admired it for a moment before reading the text I hadn't noticed on the sword until he read it. "When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death."

"Aslan?" I murmured, confused. My question was ignored for the time being.

"And when he shakes his mane," Lucy's voice continued. We all turned to her. "We shall have spring again."

All four of them shared uneasy looks.

"Everyone we knew," Lucy continued solemnly, "Mr. Tumnus, and the beavers... they're all gone."

Peter glanced around at us all, sheathing his sword. "I think it's time we found out what's going on."

The rest of us could only nod.

* * *

_Well! Yes, I've got quite the backstory revolving around Crys. It'll develop as our heroes pass important landmarks and certain memorable things are said, and sorry if the progression gets a little slow in the future._

_I'll be updating sparingly because A, after spring break, we're on AIMS/finals mode until the end of the school year, and B, it just takes me a while to get my creativity going. _

_Review and tell me what you think!_


	3. A Little Rude, There, King Edmund

With a little help from Lucy and Susan, I selected a turquoise Narnian gown from Lucy's chest of treasures. Each of the Pevensies had insisted on dressing like Narnians, and being the conformist I was, agreed to do the same, despite the fact that I wasn't too fond of dresses.

The dress was mostly plain, a little like Lucy's own rusty orange dress, but turquoise, of course, and instead of a tan bodice with laurel prints decorating it, mine was an off white color with tiny oak leaf prints scattered across it. The overskirt split in the front, revealing the white underskirt, and had bell sleeves with little leather weaved bands on each forearm.

After following Lucy towards a secluded area of the treasure chamber and changing into the dress, Susan led me to another section of the widespread room, pointing at a wall of bows and arrows in similar looking quivers. Each quiver had a silver lion embossed on the front, each bow made of a dark mahogany colored wood, each arrow with deep red feathers, unlike Susan's arrow feathers of a strikingly brighter red.

"Pick whichever you like," she said with a smile. "We'll all need some sort of defense."

I nodded a little, no longer easily surprised. Defense wasn't something unexpected in a magical world like this- black magic could exist just as well as white magic, couldn't it?

I walked up to the wall of quivers, reaching out and touching the first one that came in sight. Immediately, memories of hunting parties and horns sounding and word traveling about a White Stag rushed into my head. I stumbled back a little, blinking rapidly.

"Crystal?" Lucy asked, walking up to me and steadying me with both hands.

"Whoa..." I muttered, shaking my head. "I'm fine, Luce."

With a reassuring smile, I picked up the quiver, pulling out the bow and plucking the string. A beautiful _twang_ resonated throughout the chamber.

"Hey, Luce, d'you know where I-" Edmund's voice echoed across the chamber as he ran down the steps, his leather boots padding softly against the stone floor. His voice broke and trailed off, and, confused, I turned to look at him.

I had to say, I was impressed. He looked every inch a warrior king, wearing a long sleeved blue tunic, with little silver buttons down the front. You could see bits of the off white undershirt at the collar and sleeves, which somehow got me a little jumpy, though I wasn't sure why. He wore tan colored trousers, his boots were dark brown. A sword in its scabbard was attached to his belt.

But what really got me jumpy was the fact that he was staring at me. _Me_. His dark eyes bore into my own for several long moments, before he turned sharply on his heel and stormed out of the chamber.

Utterly confused, I turned to Lucy. She only sighed.

"Don't mind him," she said softly. "You've just brought him... memories. That dress belonged to a lady he courted during the Golden Age. He really, really loved her."

My heart sank. "Oh... I can change, if-"

Lucy cut me off, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. Besides, that's one of the only dresses that'll fit you." And that was the end of the conversation.

Minutes later, the five of us stood in the center of the ruin. Peter and Edmund had pulled out an old Narnian map, discussing locations and such. Occasionally, Edmund's gaze would flicker towards me, returning quickly to the map as his cheeks flushed.

The boys- and later on, Susan- were trying to figure out how much the routes to getting around had changed since they were last here. They talked in hushed voices as Lucy and I sat on the remains of the dais, eating apples.

"These will get old after a while," the little girl said dolefully. I cracked a smile, taking another bite.

Suddenly, I saw Edmund's head snap up in sudden realization. Furrowing my brow, I stood and walked toward them, Lucy following suit.

"I've just seen it all," Edmund was saying.

Peter frowned. "How do you mean?"

"I know why everything's so different, why Cair is in ruins, the whole lot," the younger boy continued. "Remember, when we came back to our world and no time had passed since we left, even though Narnian years had gone by?"

"Go on, Ed," Peter goaded. "I think I'm beginning to see it myself."

"I, for one," I whispered to Lucy, "don't understand a word you four are saying." Lucy giggled.

"Well, a year has passed on Earth," Edmund said. "Who's to say that even more time passes here when we're gone than when we were here, and no time passed on Earth?"

"It all makes sense!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

"... It does?" All four laughed.

Peter and Susan continued making plans, while Lucy and I headed back to the orchard to look for something else to eat besides apples, and- well, I wasn't quite sure what Edmund was doing, That is, until I realized that he was following us. Hah.

I looked back at him curiously, my mind immediately drawing blank when his eyes bore into mine. Again, the scenery appeared to change. Edmund was older once more, and we were in some dimly lit corridor, in the middle of the night. I was wearing the same dress, oddly enough, though it wasn't half as big on me in the corridor than it had been at the ruin.

Of course, I wasn't paying any attention to these details. Somehow, I just knew they were there. I don't know how I knew, but I did. Instead of musing over my surroundings, or how much older we were- apparently I was around the same age he was- I was locked in an intense staring contest with the dark king. His deep brown eyes searched mine, I could feel my heart flutter.

…. Since when did my heart _flutter_?

"I love you, Crys."

… Since he said that, I'm guessing.

Wait, _what_?

"Crystal?"

Again, the scenery changed. I was in the same dress, holding a half eaten apple instead of a candlestick, and Edmund and I were much younger. I blinked rapidly- the sunlight, compared with the dark corridor, was blinding.

"Uh, yeah?" I asked, starting to walk again. Edmund followed.

"I wanted to apologize," he said. "For... for being rude earlier."

I brushed the matter aside. "It's fine. Lucy told me why, and I understand. No need to apologize."

Again, our eyes met. This time, his were sadder and older, as if he was remembering things just like I was. Only, I hadn't been remembering. They were just these creepy vision things I kept getting ever since we got here, right?

Yeah. I didn't think so, either.

Eventually, Peter and Susan caught up with us. We started discussing the repetitive food supply of apples, apples, and apples. Using Edmund's Hendon House hat- much to his dismay- and a piece of driftwood tied to it, we headed down to the beach to fish. At least, to try and fish.

It all happened relatively quickly. One minute, we were just sort of walking. The next, Susan had strung her bow and both boys had drawn their swords. I looked in the direction they were nearly glaring, and saw two creepy looking guys in weird armor holding up a midjet dude they'd gagged and were about to drown.

"Drop him!" Susan demanded, pulling out an arrow and preparing to shoot.

Hah. They did. Into the water.

In the moments that followed, Peter and Edmund rushed to the edge of the water. Susan fired an arrow at one of the creepy guys, hitting him in the chest. His idiot companion followed him into the water, and I'm guessing they somehow got away.

Peter dove into the water- of course, he dropped his sword in the sand first- and came back up a moment later with the midjet dude. Lucy rushed toward the midjet, drawing her dagger and cutting him loose.

"DROP him?" the midjet exclaimed, voice raspy from his heavy breathing- he _had _been underwater for a while. "THAT was the best you could come up with?"

For the first time since I saw the midjet, I realized that it wasn't just a little kid or something. He was certainly small enough to pass for a toddler or something, except he had a well groomed beard, now sopping from the ocean water, rough, calloused hands, and a deep voice.

It was a _dwarf_. A Narnian dwarf.

As soon as that thought popped into my head, I fell into the water in a dead faint. The last thing I heard was Edmund yelling my name.

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_... Eh heh heh. Minor cliffie, there. :3 Y'welcome._

_Anywhoodliedoo, review and I'll most likely update faster!_


	4. Dreams of Lions are Completely Normal

_As soon as I fell unconscious, I dreamed._

_I was in a large, open field, and by large, I mean _large_. I'm talking miles of grassy terrain, the occasional tree, and a gentle breeze __stirring the near emptiness around me._

_Out of nowhere, there was a light. Not a blinding light, though it was very bright, but a soft, gentle light. A glow, almost. But it vanished as soon as it came._

_Out of the light, however, came a lion, a few yards away from where I stood. A giant, majestic, and rather proud lion. He stood on all fours, golden eyes seeming to bore into my own._

"_Dear one," he said softly. Wait... he was talking? I would've freaked out, if it hadn't been a dream. Animals don't talk, and besides, it's just a dream. Right?_

_I didn't know what to say, so I didn't respond. The lion continued. "You have come for a purpose. A purpose I shall reveal in time. A purpose for which you befriended Lucy Pevensie, though you didn't know why you were drawn to her when you first met in England. A purpose for which you bear a striking resemblance to her brother's beloved."_

"_Hold on," I said, raising one hand. "I... resemble _who_?"_

"_In time, dear one," the lion chuckled. "In time. But that is not your purpose. Your purpose is greater, and much more important. Had you not spoken with Lucy at the time you did only hours ago, the outcome of their journey would change greatly."_

_My brow knit together. "How different? What would've happened?" With a sigh, I added to the question. "Better yet, what will happen?"_

"_No one is told what would've happened," the lion answered. "And you will realize your importance soon enough, dearest. But now, your friends worry for you. You must wake."_

_Wait... how did he know I was dreaming?_

"_This is too weird..." I mumbled. "Speaking of which, I don't know you're name. And I'm tired of referring to you as 'the lion' in my head. What should I be calling you?"_

_I could've sworn the lion smiled. "I am who you believe I am, Crystal. But you must discover yourself before you discover me."_

"_Well, that certainly clears things up."_

_With a lion-like laugh, whatever-his-name-is breathed on my face, regardless of the distance between us. Which made me wonder how I could hear him so well, despite how far apart we were._

"_We are not as far apart as you believe, dear one."_

_I woke up._

It took a few moments for my eyes to open, however. Even then, I had to blink a few times, to adjust to my surroundings. I was in a boat, a canoe, in someone's arms.

… Hah. I was in Edmund's arms.

I sat bolt upright next to him, my cheeks turning red. "Uh..."

He only laughed. "Glad you're awake, Dolly Daydream."

"Hah hah," I mumbled, rolling my eyes. "You're funny."

"Thought so."

Someone at the front of the boat ahem-ed. I turned my head toward them, only to meet gazes with that one dwarf guy. I swallowed hard.

"Uh…" Edmund laughed. I shot him a glare. "Hello… ur…"

"Trumpkin," the dwarf answered gruffly. He turned back to the water, which allowed me to take in our surroundings. We were on some sort of river or lake, in the middle of a chasm, with all sorts of plant life decorating the rocky chasm walls. Sunlight peaked between the two walls of stone directly above us.

"They're so still," I heard Lucy murmur forlornly. Trumpkin gave her an odd look.

"They're trees. What did you expect?"

Lucy gave him a sad look. "They used to dance."

… Dancing trees?

Yeah. If it hadn't been official before, it certainly was now. This place was beyond weird.

"When you four left," Trumpkin said, "all the Narnians retreated to the woods. The trees… retreated into themselves." He scoffed quietly, nearly glaring at the water. "No one's heard from them since."

I looked over at Edmund, who was staring intently at me, with a look of extreme concentration. That concentration was underlined with such a troubled expression that I had to force myself to look away.

My eyes widened, my head was spinning. What was _that_? I'd never been given such an odd look in my entire life. That somehow reminded me of those random visions I'd gotten earlier. Could he have possibly seen the same thing? No, no. I was being ridiculous. Visions. I was just imagining things. I was making it up as I went.

… Wasn't I?

"We didn't mean to leave, you know," Peter muttered, his voice quivering.

Trumpkin scowled. "Doesn't change anything."

In my mind, though I pitied the oldest boy greatly, I thanked him for interrupting my thought process. It was becoming overbearing to think of so many complications at once.

Somehow, Edmund caught my gaze once more. His expression had shifted, it was now concerned. "You alright?" he asked.

I nodded slowly. "Just fine."

Yeah, I didn't really believe it, either.

* * *

_Ahhhh, I'm so sorry! I've been in over my head with homework and slipping grades (URGH. *Kills math*) and all kinds of writer's block, so it took me a while to type just this up. I know it isn't much, but I promise the next chapter will be longer!_

_Reviews are love! And encouragement- I really need some. :P_


	5. Explainations Left and Right

_Aha! I've updated! And I hope you like what I came up with- not so much Edmund-ness, but this was entirely necessary!_

_A big huge thank you to all my amazing reviewers! I love you all to death! Thank you for sticking with me for so long, despite my randomly spaced updates and failure to write lengthy and fairly captivating chapters. Hopefully, these next few will change that- I've got plenty in store for y'all. :3 BEWARE!_

* * *

As the canoe ran aground, Lucy and I started to walk, taking a look around. The air was cool and somewhat refreshing, the gravel beneath my sandal-like shoes crunching with each step.

"Hello, there!"

I turned and nearly screamed. Lucy was talking to a bear.

"Don't move, your majesty!" Trumpkin called, fear clouding his gruff tone.

"It's alright!" Lucy said cheerfully, taking a step toward the bear, who was standing on his hind legs. "We're friends!"

"Good God, Lucy…" was all I could mutter.

The bear lunged.

A million things happened at once. My heart pounded in my chest, about to burst. Susan strung her bow, Peter and Edmund rushed forward. My heart was caught in my throat, the violent thuds resounding in my ears. Lucy bolted and tripped, about to be pulverized by a bear-

_TWANG!_

The bear collapsed, an arrow in its side.

We all looked to the boat. Trumpkin had shot at the bear and saved Lucy's life, when the rest of us hadn't the heart to kill it.

"Why wouldn't it stop?" Susan asked worriedly.

Trumpkin shrugged. "I suspect it was hungry."

All four Pevensies looked at each other, as if for reassurance. They received none.

"He was wild," Edmund muttered, clearly stunned.

Peter held Lucy close to him, brow creased. Lucy was every inch as worried. "I don't think he could talk at all," he said softly, hugging the little girl close.

"When you're treated like a dumb animal long enough," Trumpkin said bitterly, "that's what you become."

Lucy looked horrified. Looking at the others, I saw the same expressions. And from the look I received from Trumpkin, I was every bit as astounded.

He pulled out a dagger, shaking his head. "You may find Narnia to be a more savage place than you remember."

_Battles. Armies. Witches. Giants. War horns, swords meeting in midair, soldiers dying, flags waved._

_The Battle of Beruna._

_Edmund stabbed._

My eyes widened considerably. How in the world had all that come to mind?

"Crys?"

I spared a glance at Edmund, then looked out at the water. "Yeah?"

"You spaced out there."

"I know."

He took a step forward. "Something wrong?"

"I'm fine," I said bitterly. Oh, yeah. I'm randomly discovering I know things I didn't even knew I knew. And it wasn't one of those things where I'd lived it or heard it before, and was just now remembering. It was completely out of nowhere, unpredicted, unknown. Just… there.

It scared me to death.

Edmund sighed. It took me a moment to realize that he was staring. "Everything alright, Ed?"

He offered a small smile. "Yeah."

Somehow, I didn't believe him.

* * *

"I don't remember ever going this way," Lucy was interjecting, as Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin led the group of us through the forest.

"That's the trouble with girls," Edmund joked, tossing Peter a smirk. "Can't carry a map in their heads."

Lucy giggled. "That's because our heads have something in them!"

I laughed, earning a teasing glare from Edmund. I finger waved at him, and he laughed himself. I felt rather accomplished.

"This is exactly why we should've just listened to the DLF in the first place," the ever-practical Susan remarked.

Edmund cocked an eyebrow. "DLF?"

Lucy and I grinned as Susan translated. "Dear Little Friend."

"Oh…" The poor dwarf sighed. "That's not at all patronizing, is it?"

Peter wasn't paying the littlest bit of attention by now. "I'm not lost…"

"You're _not_ lost," Trumpkin agreed sarcastically. "You're just going the wrong way."

Peter turned to face him, jaw clenched. I fought off a smirk. "You last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Wood. The quickest way to get there is through the River Rush."

Yeah, I wasn't getting any of this. Shows how much I pay attention while they pour over maps.

"Well unless I'm mistaken, there's no crossing at these parts." Trumpkin's voice was bored, as if he'd been over this a dozen times. I almost pitied the DLF.

"That explains it, then," Peter said sharply. "You're mistaken."

The High King then stalked off. With a sigh, I ran up to him, walking alongside him. "You alright?"

"Just fine," he lied smoothly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, and I'm the new Queen of Narnia. What's the deal, Peter?"

"I know what I'm doing," he said gruffly. "He doesn't." I assumed 'he' was Trumpkin. "I'm a king. I lived here for fifteen years. I think I know what I'm doing."

"Well," I said carefully, "don't you think that, if so much time as everyone says has passed since you were last here, the layout could've changed a bit? Like this… this River What's-It's-Name-"

"Rush."

"Yeah, the Rush. The water could've eroded the earth and made a gorge. Or there could've been some earthquake or landslide." I paused, feeling like a nerd. "Or maybe the trees decided to clear the area before they disappeared."

The last statement earned a chuckle from the older boy. I grinned, pleased.

"The thing is, Pete… you can't get mad at him for having an opinion, or viewpoint. And you certainly can't be mad at him for being Trumpkin. That's just how he is." Again, he laughed.

"Thanks, Crys," Peter said, clapping my shoulder appreciatively. "I needed that."

Out of nowhere, he looked me in the eyes, brow creasing. "Y'know… you remind me of someone. Someone from the Golden Age. Good with advice… Ed's girl, if my memory serves me."

Again with being Edmund's little girlfriend. "Oh?"

Peter nodded. "Funny, her name was Crystal, just like you. 'Cept she was older. Though, I guess all of us were. She had long hair, and it was almost always kind of curly, at the ends. And she had brown eyes, like yours. She was a joker like you, too. You're more like her than I thought."

I looked down, then at a tree, then at Peter. "But I'm not her." Here he frowned. "You've got to be joking, Pete. I've never been here before. I think I'd know if I had."

Of course, there were the visions and random thoughts to take into account. Where had those come from? My expression shifted, and Peter saw it, too.

"Aslan works in mysterious ways, you know," he interjected.

"Aslan, Aslan, Aslan," I murmured, thankful I'd been able to change the subject. "Lucy goes on about him all the time, and I don't know anything about him."

Peter chuckled. "Well, for one, he's a lion-"

I choked on my breath. "A… lion?"

Impossible. It was just a dream. A really freaky, nearly realistic dream. A dream about a lion who knew who I was, what I was, why I'm here…

"Yes, a lion," he continued, a small smirk on his lips. "He turns up when we need him most. But he's not a tame lion. He has other countries to take care of, and he doesn't like being tied down to one spot. Which is probably why we haven't heard from him in so long."

After a long moment, I nodded. "Thanks, Peter. I… needed to hear that."

His brow furrowed again. "You alright?"

Out loud, I said, "Yeah." In my mind, the real answer was, "Are you kidding?"


End file.
